Friday, July 04, 2025

Books for the Home 4b


Greetings, I hope you will pray and plan for a day of purpose and pleasantness at home.

I have been talking about books I once used in my home. Today I discussed these books:



The Eric Sloane book, below, is suitable for boys and young men at home. It contains information for
creative activities and personal conduct/manners.



You can search for these online at Thrift Books, Abe Books and other sellers, including Walmart.com

I read this poem by Edgar Guest:

Hard Luck

BY EDGAR ALBERT GUEST (1881-1959)
Ain’t no use as I can see
In sittin’ underneath a tree
An’ growlin’ that your luck is bad,
An’ that your life is extry sad;

Your life ain’t sadder than your neighbor’s
Nor any harder are your labors;
It rains on him the same as you,
An’ he has work he hates to do;

An’ he gits tired an’ he gits cross,
An’ he has trouble with the boss;
You take his whole life, through an’ through,
Why, he’s no better off than you.

If whinin’ brushed the clouds away
I wouldn’t have a word to say;
If it made good friends out o’ foes
I’d whine a bit, too, I suppose;

But when I look around an’ see
A lot o’ men resemblin’ me,
An’ see ’em sad, an’ see ’em gay
With work t’ do most every day,

Some full o’ fun, some bent with care,
Some havin’ troubles hard to bear,
I reckon, as I count my woes,
They’re ’bout what everybody knows.

The day I find a man who’ll say
He’s never known a rainy day,
Who’ll raise his right hand up an’ swear
In forty years he’s had no care,

Has never had a single blow,
An’ never known one touch o’ woe,
Has never seen a loved one die,
Has never wept or heaved a sigh,

Has never had a plan go wrong,
But allas* laughed his way along;
Then I’ll sit down an’ start to whine
That all the hard luck here is mine.

(*"Allus" is a way of saying "always".)


 This poem has an interesting message about thinking that "nothing ever goes right for me" or "I'm always having hard luck."  Start in your youth to adopt the habit of being an being an over-comer that will help others overcome the same problems.


I also recommended hefty doses of ingredients from Philippians 4:7 before you even face your day at home. One of my grandchildren takes her Bible outside first thing of a morning and reads aloud as she takes a slow walk before the noise of the day begins.

2 doses of rejoicing
1 dose of  a combination of reasonableness, gentleness and refinement
1 dose of prayer
unlimited doses of thanksgiving
 
Repeat throughout the day as needed. It is not possible to over-dose. 

Maintains peace and provides an adequate guard for your hearts and minds.

Please enjoy homemaking while you listen today.


Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Books for the home 4a

 


Greetings and prayers for you all today. I hope that you will not allow everything to swirl around in your mind and that you will pay close attention to what you are doing and find ways to delight in it.

One of my cups to match the flowers today.

I have posted here a few things from Pinterest that I thought were interesting.






Please make sure you check My Pinterest once in awhile for more ideas.

While setting goals and aspiring to something might seem unrealistic, it is important to have something to look up to as a standard in ourselves and our homes. 

This is a short talk today but I shall pick up speed again.

Friday, June 27, 2025

Books For Home (# 3)


We are having very nice weather.

I was amused at what happened to this lawn chair which I have left in one place all year. The sage plant grew through the boards and covered the chair like a fragrant cushion.

It stopped raining for a day so that I could get a picture for you.

Some of the books I reported on today:

May 2021 Country Living Magazine could be used for a homemakers scrapbook, as it has some nature-to-house ideas.

Cottage Core by Daisy Oakley has seasonal projects, which are useful as homemaking assignments for those in your care, or for yourself. It is satisfyingly creative. 
Home Warming by Emilie  Barnes, with illustrations by Susan Rios is a delightful book that contains a lot of core values regarding the home. If you are homeschooling, go for the gift books rather than the school books, if you want more delight in your learning. Look for good or excellent quality used editions of these books at Thrift Books, Abe Books and other book stores online.

Hair clips I have been wearing are from the Hobby Lobby, all under $3.00. 




I have made a set of nesting trays by covering corrugated cardboard boxes with the peel and stick waterproof "wallpaper" panels from Dollar Tree. I'm trying this on notebook covers, and recovering old books with it.  The removable panels also give a nice new look to old shelves.

I hope you enjoy today's review of books for the home.

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Books For the Home #2


Hello Everybody,

All is well here. We are getting fog in the mornings.

In this message I talked about these books for the home:
Come On Over -- by Gooseberry Patch books
Pride and Its Prisoners--from Lamplighter book catalog
The Spirit of Loveliness by Emilie Barnes

Find them at Thrift Books and online at very thrifty prices. 


A layer of fog appears every morning here.


Recipes for body care (including some cosmetics) made with non-toxic ingredients, can be found in Willow and Sage publications.

This company also publishes very high quality issues with good, strong paper. Each issue is worth becoming part of your book collection.

The issue below, is full of recipes for cleaning products and other things for the home, without chemicals.

These are usually available at grocery stores and the Walmart. 


I shared how to make a sewing card and tiny books, using simple materials from the dollar store:

The clip art is from the Hobby Lobby paper craft department. 


Please enjoy listening while you do something in your home today:
You are also welcome to leave comments and if you can't navigate the comment section you can always send me an email and I'll post it for you: (no spaces) lady lydia speaks at comcast dot net.

Friday, June 20, 2025

Helpful Reading Material #1


Hello and Welcome!

Blue light comes half an hour after sunset and creates such a nice picture.

I was so pleased with the recent Victoria magazine. It was similar to the first issues back in the late 1980's with all the homey things in it, only much better. The main feature was Anne of Green Gables and Prince Edward Island.


Bookmarks I’m using from the Ephemera section of the Hob Lob:



Here are the words to the song I mentioned:


The books I spoke of today:


505 Quick Tips by Terry Willits is a book I highly recommend. Use this book as a textbook for a little scrapbook with your ideas in it. Ladies of all ages will find this book a treasure.


I know vital women who collect paper dolls. This book can give ideas of making your own, including a house to put them in.


I like this little craft book with projects that can be quickly completed, relaxing the mind for a few minutes each day.


I was given some Sumatra coffee and explained more about it.


Ladies of all ages might enjoy these Barbour Book publications which also have parchment type edges on the pages. This company publishes encouraging materials.











Please enjoy your home while you listen: